In Dark Humor and Stiff Drinks, Albany Finds Relief From Scandal

State Senator Malcolm A. Smith, who is facing bribery charges, returned to work at the State Capitol in Albany on Monday.Credit
Nathaniel Brooks for The New York Times

ALBANY — They pat each other down. They crack wise about “CSI: Albany.” They vent, in bars and back rooms and on basketball courts.

As Albany’s legislators got back to work this week, after a two-week break and on the heels of yet another corruption scandal, there was no doubt what the primary topic of conversation was going to be.

Four lawmakers have recently been accused of various acts of malfeasance, including Malcolm A. Smith, the Democratic senator from Queens who was charged with trying to bribe his way into the New York City mayor’s race, and Assemblyman Eric A. Stevenson, a Bronx Democrat, who was accused of taking bribes from developers of adult day care centers in his district.

Another Bronx Democrat, Assemblyman Nelson L. Castro, resigned in a deal with prosecutors under which he had secretly recorded conversations with other lawmakers to avoid prosecution on state perjury charges.

All of which has led to a raft of new anticorruption proposals and a profound need for dark humor, stiff drinks and other types of distraction for many in the rank and file.

“We’re all angry,” said Rafael L. Espinal, a 28-year-old Brooklyn Democrat who is one of the Assembly’s youngest members. “We’re angry at the fact that we have to, the good ones or most of us, deal with the backlash.”

On Monday night Mr. Espinal stood at an overlighted sports bar near the Capitol alongside State Senator Martin Malavé Dilan, a fireplug of a legislator whose Brooklyn district is near Mr. Smith’s. The two lawmakers chatted and drank and threw darts. And not just at the wall.

For Assembly members, the week began with a closed-door pep talk on Monday with the Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, a Manhattan Democrat, who assured them that a “few bad apples” would not ruin their reputation.

Then it was the members’ turn to talk, and many of them did, some voicing deep antipathy about the members who had allegedly misbehaved.

“It was a little bit of a catharsis,” said Assemblyman David I. Weprin, a Queens Democrat. “It was a healthy, therapeutic thing to do.”

“You run into them, and you feel them up and down,” he said. “You’ve got to make light of it some days.”

On the other side of the Capitol, in the Senate, Malcolm A. Smith returned to work, albeit in an exceedingly chilly environment. Mr. Smith, who has insisted on his innocence, sat in brief Senate sessions on Monday from the so-called crooked seat, near the chamber’s doors, which is traditionally given to legislators who are in trouble with the law. (Former Senator Carl Kruger, who was sentenced to seven years in federal prison last year after being convicted on bribery charges, was an occupant of the seat. Before going to jail, of course.)

Mr. Smith was not shy, however, granting interviews and posting inspirational messages, his “themes of the week,” near his office door. This week’s message? “God knows the heart.”

On Tuesday, the Capitol was packed with lobbyists and other advocates, including, appropriately enough, trial lawyers. Between news conferences announcing various anticorruption efforts — there are currently five proposals, including two by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo — lawmakers did their best to stay busy, unveiling bills on everything from pay equity to financial penalties for dog bites.

But the scandal was never far from members’ minds, said Karim Camara, a Democratic assemblyman from Brooklyn. “It’s dominated the conversation,” Mr. Camara said.

By Tuesday night, many of the normal rhythms of the Capitol seemed to be returning. The regular Assembly members’ basketball game was on, and fund-raisers for candidates drew fans of catered food and, well, alcohol. At Elda’s, a friendly bar in the Center Square neighborhood, legislators, staff members and reporters traded shots of whiskey and discussions of their weekend plans. (A workweek in Albany usually runs Monday to Wednesday, with many of those who make laws fleeing as soon as the week’s legislative sessions end.)

While the legal fate of those accused of taking bribes is unknown, Mr. Camara said there had already been one casualty of the federal wiretapping: candid conversation.

“Everyone has unguarded moments; there’s locker room talk,” he said. “There’s a lot of people who are just thinking, ‘What could I have possibly said in one of those moments?’ ”

He said he did not worry about having said anything criminal, but rather something catty. “It could just be what an ugly suit someone is wearing,” he said. “I’m like, ‘Let’s just talk about the Knicks game.’ ”

A version of this article appears in print on April 18, 2013, on Page A23 of the New York edition with the headline: In Dark Humor and Stiff Drinks, Albany Finds Relief From Scandal. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe